The Italy national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has officially represented Italy in association football since their first match in 1910. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—the latter of which was co-founded by the Italian team's supervising body, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and have their primary training ground located at the FIGC headquarters in Coverciano, Florence.

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and appearing in two other finals (1970, 1994), reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). In 1938, they became the first team to defend their World Cup title, and due to the outbreak of World War II, retained the title for 16 years. Italy had also previously won two Central European International Cups (1927–30, 1933–35). Between its first two World Cup victories, Italy won the Olympic football tournament (1936). After the majority of the team was killed in a plane crash in 1949, the team did not advance past the group stage of the following two World Cup tournaments, and also failed to qualify for the 1958 edition—failure to qualify for the World Cup would not happen again until the 2018 edition. Italy returned to form by 1968, winning a European Championship (1968), and after a period of alternating unsuccessful qualification rounds in Europe, later appeared in two other finals (2000, 2012). Italy's highest finish at the FIFA Confederations Cup was in 2013, where the squad achieved a third-place finish.

The team is known as Gli Azzurri (The Blues) as blue is the traditional colour of the national teams representing Italy due to the colour of the House of Savoy's banner. The national team is also known for its long-standing rivalries with other top footballing nations, such as those with Brazil, France, Germany and Spain. In the FIFA World Ranking, in force since August 1993, Italy has occupied the first place several times, in November 1993 and during 2007 (February, April-June, September), with its worst placement in August 2018 in 21st place.

The team's first match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910. Italy defeated France by a score of 6–2, with Italy's first goal scored by Pietro Lana.[3][4][5] Some turmoil kept the players of Pro Vercelli, who were the best team in the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators as a prize.[6] The Italian team played with a (2–3–5) system and consisted of: De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi. First captain of the team was Francesco Calì.[7]

After declining to participate in the first World Cup (1930, in Uruguay) the Italian national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938, under the direction of coach Vittorio Pozzo and the performance of Giuseppe Meazza, who is considered one of the best Italian football players of all time by some.[11][12] Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup, and played their first ever World Cup match in a 7–1 win over the United States in Rome. Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in extra time in the final in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World cup title in 1934. They achieved their second title in 1938 in a 4–2 defeat of Hungary, with two goals by Gino Colaussi and two goals by Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed. Rumour has it, before the 1938 finals fascist Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was to have sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player Pietro Rava said, when interviewed, "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die'."[13]

In 1949, 10 of the 11 players in the team's initial line-up were killed in a plane crash that affected Torino, winners of the previous five Serie A titles. Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup, as they were weakened severely due to the air disaster. The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane, fearing another accident.[14]

In 1968, Italy participated in their first European Championship, hosting the European Championship and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, beating Yugoslavia in Rome for the title. The match holds the distinction of being the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay.[16] After extra time the final ended in a 1–1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi) to take the trophy.

In the 1970 World Cup, exploiting the performances of European champions' players like Giacinto Facchetti, Gianni Rivera and Luigi Riva and with a new center-forward Roberto Boninsegna, the team were able to come back to a World Cup final match after 32 years. They reached this result after one of the most famous matches in football history—the "Game of the Century", the 1970 World Cup semifinal between Italy and Germany that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time.[17] They were later defeated by Brazil in the final 4–1. The cycle of international successes ended in the 1974 World Cup, when the team was eliminated by Grzegorz Lato's Polish team in the first round.

In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being Paolo Rossi, came to the international stage. Italy were the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second-round games against West Germany (0–0), Austria (1–0) and Netherlands (1–2) led Italy to the third-place final, where the team was defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the match that eliminated Italy from the tournament against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from Arie Haan, and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.[18] Italy hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four,[19] automatically qualifying for the finals as hosts. After two draws with Spain and Belgium and a narrow 1–0 win over England, Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place match on penalties 9–8 after Fulvio Collovati missed his kick.

After a scandal in Serie A where some National team players such as Paolo Rossi[20] were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting. The Azzurri qualified for the second round of the 1982 World Cup after three uninspiring draws against Poland, Peru and Cameroon. Having been loudly criticized, the Italian team decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press.

Italy's regrouped in the second round group, a group of death with Argentina and Brazil. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over Argentina, with Italy's goals, both left-footed strikes, were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini. After Brazil defeated Argentina 3–1, Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semi-finals. Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi's goals, and twice Brazil came back. When Falcão scored to make it 2–2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the 74th minute Rossi scored the winning goal, for a hat-trick, in a crowded penalty area to send Italy to the semifinals after one of the greatest games in World Cup history.[21][22][23] Italy then progressed to the semi final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi.

In the final, Italy met West Germany, who had advanced by a penalty shootout victory against France. The first half ended scoreless, after Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a Hans-Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3–0. Paul Breitner scored home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end.

Tardelli's cry, "Gol! Gol!" was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph.[24] Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament,[25] and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup.[26]

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Italy played nearly all of their matches in Rome and did not concede a single goal in their first five matches, however, Italy lost in the semi-final to defending champion Argentina in Naples, losing 4–3 on penalty kicks following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Schillaci's first half opener was equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick (with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea). Italy went on to defeat England 2–1 in the third place match in Bari, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with six goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship. In November 1993, FIFA ranked Italy first in the FIFA World Rankings for their first time since the ranking system was introduced in December 1992.[38]

At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Italy lost the opening match against Ireland 0–1 at the Giants Stadium near New York City. After a 1–0 win against Norway in New York City and a 1–1 draw with Mexico at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. During their round of 16 match at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston, Italy was down 0–1 late against Nigeria, but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win.[39] Baggio scored another late goal against Spain at their quarter-final match in Boston to seal a 2–1 win and two goals against Bulgaria in their semi-final match in New York City for another 2–1 win.[40][41]

In the final, which took place in Los Angeles's Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 km) and three time zones away from the Atlantic Northeast part of the United States where they had played all their previous matches, Italy, who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil, played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a penalty shootout, the first time a World Cup final was settled in a penalty shootout.[42] Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection[43] and a heavily bandaged hamstring,[44][45] missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.[46][47]

Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the finals of Euro 1996. Having defeated Russia 2–1 but losing to the Czech Republic by the same score, Italy required a win to be sure of progressing. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against Germany,[48] who eventually won the tournament. During the qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup, Italy drew 0–0 to England on the last day of Group 2 matches as Italy finished in second place, one point behind England. Italy were then required to go through the play-off against Russia, advancing 2–1 on aggregate on 15 November 1997 with the winner coming from Pierluigi Casiraghi.[49] In the final tournament, Italy found themselves in another critical shootout for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta ("relay") between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team France to a 0–0 draw after extra time in the quarter-finals, but lost 4–3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio is still the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions.[50]

In the Euro 2000, another shootout decided Italy's fate but this time in their favour when defeating the co-hosts the Netherlands in the semi final. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts. Emerging star Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio ("spoon") chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 2–1 against France (to a golden goal in extra time) after conceding les Bleus equalising goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time (93rd minute). After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.[51]

In the 2002 World Cup, a 2–0 victory against Ecuador with two Christian Vieri goals was followed by a series of controversial matches. During the match against Croatia, two goals were disallowed resulting in a 2–1 defeat for Italy. Despite two goals being ruled for borderline offsides, a late headed goal from Alessandro Del Piero helped Italy to a 1–1 draw with Mexico proving enough to advance to the knockout stages. However, co-host country South Korea eliminated Italy in the round of 16 by a score of 2–1. The game was highly controversial with members of the Italian team, most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni, suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition.[52] Trapattoni even obliquely accused FIFA of ordering the official to ensure a Korean victory so that one of the two host nations would remain in the tournament.[53] The most contentious decisions by the game referee Byron Moreno were an early penalty awarded to South Korea (saved by Buffon), a golden goal by Damiano Tommasi ruled offside, and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area.[54]FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a "disaster" and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls during the group matches, but he denied conspiracy allegations. While questioning Totti's sending off by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame Italy's loss entirely on the referees, stating: "Italy's elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors ... Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack."[55]

A three-way five point tie in the group stage of the 2004 European Championship left Italy as the "odd man out", as they failed to qualify for the quarter finals after finishing behind Denmark and Sweden on the basis of number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams. Italy's winning goal scored during stoppage time giving them a 2–1 victory over Bulgaria by Antonio Cassano proved futile, ending the team's tournament.

Within the crowd in the Circus Maximus in Rome, after the Italian team scored against France.

Italian President Napolitano congratulates coach Lippi and captain Cannavaro after the final match against France. Berlin, 9 July 2006.

The summer of 2004 marked the choice, by FIGC, to appoint Marcello Lippi for Italy's bench.[56] He made his debut in an upset 2–0 defeat in Iceland[57] but then managed to qualify for 2006 World Cup.[58][59] Italy's campaign in the tournament hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism[60] due to the controversy caused by the 2006 Serie A scandal,[61] however these negative predictions were then refuted, as the Azzurri eventually won their fourth World Cup.

Italy won their opening game against Ghana 2–0, with goals from Andrea Pirlo (40th minute) and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta (83rd minute). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.[62]

The second match was a less convincing 1–1 draw with United States, with Alberto Gilardino's diving header equalized by a Cristian Zaccardoown goal. After the equaliser, midfielder Daniele De Rossi and the United States's Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were sent off, leaving only nine men on the field for nearly the entirety of the second half, but the score remained unchanged despite a controversial decision when Gennaro Gattuso's shot was deflected in but disallowed because of an offside ruling. The same happened at the other end when U.S. winger DaMarcus Beasley's goal was not given due to teammate Brian McBride being ruled offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing McBride in the face and only returned for the final match.

In the quarterfinals Italy beat Ukraine 3–0. Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early (in the sixth minute) with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area after a quick exchange with Totti created enough space. Luca Toni added two more goals in the second half (59th and 69th minute), as Ukraine pressed forward but were not able to score, hitting the crossbar and requiring several saves from Gianluigi Buffon and a goal-line clearance from Zambrotta. Afterwards, manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.[64]

In the semi-finals, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time. After a back-and-forth half-hour of extra time during which Alberto Gilardino and Gianluca Zambrotta struck the post and the crossbar respectively, Fabio Grosso scored in the 119th minute after a disguised Andrea Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area for a bending left-footed shot into the far corner past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's dive. Substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the victory by scoring with the last kick of the game at the end of a swift counterattack by Cannavaro, Totti and Gilardino.[65]

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating their long-time rivals France in Berlin, on 9 July, 5–3 on penalty kicks after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time in the final. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a chipped penalty kick, awarded for a controversial foul by Materazzi on Florent Malouda. Twelve minutes later, a header by Materazzi from a corner kick by Pirlo brought Italy even. In the second half, a potential winning goal by Toni was disallowed for a very close offside call by linesman Luc La Rossa. In the 110th minute, Zidane (playing in the last match of his career) was sent off by referee Horacio Elizondo for headbutting Materazzi in the chest after a verbal exchange;[66] Italy then won the penalty shootout 5–3; the crucial penalty miss being David Trezeguet's, the same player who scored the golden goal for France in the Euro 2000. Trezeguet's attempt hit the crossbar, then shot down after its impact, and just stayed ahead of the line.[67]

Ten different players scored for Italy in the tournament, and five goals out of twelve were scored by substitutes, while four goals were scored by defenders. Seven players — Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — were named to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.[68] Buffon also won the Lev Yashin Award, given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament; he conceded only two goals in the tournament's seven matches, the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane's penalty kick in the final, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.[69]
In honour of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup for a fourth time, all members of the World Cup-winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere Ufficiale.[70][71]

Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph, was replaced by Roberto Donadoni as the new coach of the Azzurri.[72] Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up. On 14 February 2007, Italy climbed to first in the FIFA World Rankings from second, with a total of 1,488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This was the second time in the Azzurri's history that it had been ranked in first place, the first time being in 1993; they would also be ranked first several times throughout 2007, also in April–June and September.[38][73]

In Euro 2008, the Azzurri lost 3–0 to the Netherlands. The following game against Romania ended 1–1, with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead.[74] The result was preserved by Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick from Mutu in the 80th minute.[74]

The final group game against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final, was a 2–0 Italy win. Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot after a foul and red card for France defender Éric Abidal, and later a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2–0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarter finals against eventual champions Spain, where they lost 2–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after 120 minutes. Within a week after the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.[75]

Italy qualified for their first ever FIFA Confederations Cup held in South Africa in June 2009 by virtue of winning the 2006 World Cup. They won their opening match of the tournament by a score of 3–1 against the United States, but subsequent defeats to Egypt (0–1) and Brazil (0–3) meant that they only finished third in the group on goals scored, and were eliminated.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round, finishing last place in their group. After being held to 1–1 draws by Paraguay and New Zealand, they suffered a 3–2 loss to Slovakia.[76] It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup finals tournament, and in doing so became the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while holding the World Cup crown; the first being Brazil in 1966 and the second France in 2002.[77] Coincidentally, France who had been Italy's adversaries and the losing finalist in the 2006 World Cup, were also eliminated without winning a game in the first round in South Africa, making it the first time ever that neither finalist of the previous edition were able to reach the second round.[78]

The national football team of Italy before the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, Olympic Stadium, Kiev, 1 July 2012.

Marcello Lippi stepped down after Italy's World Cup campaign and was replaced by Cesare Prandelli, although Lippi's successor had already been announced before the tournament.[79] Italy began their campaign with Prandelli with a disappointing 0–1 loss to the Ivory Coast in a friendly match.[80] Then, during a Euro 2012 qualifier, Italy came back from behind to defeat Estonia 2–1. In the next Euro qualifier, Italy dominated the Faroe Islands 5–0. Italy then tied 0–0 with Northern Ireland. Five days later, Italy played Serbia; however, Serbian fans in Stadio Luigi Ferraris began to riot, throwing flares and shooting fireworks onto the pitch, subsequently causing the abandonment of the game.[81] Upon UEFA Disciplinary Review, Italy was awarded a 3–0 victory that propelled them to the top of their group.[82] In their first match of 2011, Italy drew 1–1 a friendly with Germany at Dortmund, in the same stadium where they beat Germany 2–0 to advance to the final of the 2006 World Cup. In March 2011, Italy won 1–0 over Slovenia to again secure its spot at the top of the qualification table. They then defeated Ukraine 2–0 in a friendly, despite being reduced to ten men for the late stages of the match. With their 3–0 defeat of Estonia in another Euro 2012 qualifier, Prandelli's Italy secured the table lead and also achieved 9 undefeated games in a row since their initial debacle. The streak was ended on 7 June 2011 by Trapattoni's current charges, the Republic of Ireland, with Italy losing 0–2 in a friendly in Liège.

At the beginning of the second season under coach Prandelli, on 10 August 2011, Italy defeated the reigning world champions Spain for 2–1 in a friendly match played in Bari's Stadio San Nicola, but lost in a friendly to the United States, 1–0, on home soil on 29 February 2012.[83]

Italy started their Euro 2012 campaign with a 1–1 draw to current reigning European and world champions Spain. Following this they met Croatia and were also held to a 1–1 draw. They finished second in their group behind Spain by beating the Republic of Ireland 2–0, which earned them a quarter final match against the winners of group D, England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to best England on penalty kicks, even though they were down early in the shootout. A save by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon put them ahead after a chip shot from Andrea Pirlo. Prandelli's side won the shootout 4–2.[84][85]

In their next game, the first semi-final of the competition, they faced Germany team who were tipped by many to be the next European champions.[86][87][88][89][90] However, two first-half goals by Mario Balotelli saw Germany sent home, and the Italians went through to the finals to face the title defenders Spain.

In the final, however, they were unable to repeat their earlier performance against Spain, falling 4–0 to lose the championship. Prandelli's men were further undone by the string of injuries which left them playing with ten men for the last half-hour, as substitute Thiago Motta was forced to go off after all three substitutions had been made.[91]

During the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy started in a group with Mexico, Japan and Brazil. After beating Mexico 2–1 and Japan 4–3, Italy eventually lost their final group game against tournament hosts Brazil 4–2. Italy then faced Spain in the semi-finals, in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final. Italy lost 7–6 (0–0 after extra time) in a penalty shoot-out after Leonardo Bonucci failed to score his kick.[92] Prandelli was praised for his tactics against the current World Cup and European champions.[93] Italy was then able to win the match for the third place by defeating Uruguay with the penalty score of 5–4 (2–2 after extra time).

Italy was drawn in UEFA Group B for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. They won the qualifying group without losing a match. Despite this successful run they were not seeded in pot 1 for the final seeding. In December 2013, Italy was drawn in Group D against Costa Rica, England and Uruguay. In its first match, Italy defeated England 2–1. However, in the second group stage match, underdogs Costa Rica beat the Italians 1–0.[94] In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, due in part to two controversial calls from referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico): in the 59th minute, midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for a questionable tackle.[95][96] Later in the 80th minute, with the teams knotted at 0–0 which would have sent Italy to the next round, Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder but was not sent off.[97][98] Uruguay went on to score moments later in the 81st minute with a Diego Godín header from a corner kick, winning the game 1–0 and eliminating Italy. This marked Italy's second consecutive failure to reach the round of 16 at the World Cup finals. Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.[99]

The successful former Juventus manager Antonio Conte was selected to replace Cesare Prandelli as coach after the 2014 World Cup. Conte's debut as manager was against 2014 World Cup semi-finalists the Netherlands, in which Italy won 2–0. Italy's first defeat under Conte came ten games in to his empowerment from a 1–0 international friendly loss against Portugal on 16 June 2015.[100] On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for Euro 2016, courtesy of a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan;[101] the result meant that Italy had managed to go 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers.[102] Three days later, with a 2–1 win over Norway, Italy topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group with 24 points; four points clear of second placed Croatia.[103] However, with a similar fate to the 2014 World Cup group stage draw, Italy were not top seeded into the first pot. This had Italy see a draw with Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group E.[104]

On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of English club Chelsea at the start of the 2016–17 Premier League season.[105] The 23-man squad, which was initially criticized by many fans and members of the media for its tactics and level of quality,[106] saw notable absences with Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco controversially left out[107] and Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti omitted due to injury.[108][109] Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium on 13 June.[110] Italy qualified for the round of 16 with one game to spare on 17 June with a lone goal by Éder for the victory against Sweden; the first time they won the second group game in a major international tournament since Euro 2000.[111] Italy also finished top of the group for the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup.[112] Italy defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16 match on 27 June.[113] Italy then faced off against the reigning World champions, rivals Germany, in the quarter-finals. Mesut Özil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany, before Leonardo Bonucci converted a penalty in the 78th minute for Italy. The score remained 1–1 after extra time and Germany beat Italy 6–5 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. It was the first time Germany overcame Italy in a major tournament, however, since the win occurred on penalties, it is statistically considered a draw.[114][115]

2016–present: Failure to qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup and rebuild[edit]

After Italy won all of their qualifying matches except for a 1–1 draw at home to Macedonia, as well as a 1–1 draw with Spain at home on 6 October 2016, and a 3–0 loss away to Spain on 2 September 2017, Italy finished in Group G in second place, five points behind Spain.[120][121] Italy were then required to go through the play-off against Sweden. After a 1–0 aggregate loss to Sweden, on 13 November 2017, Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the first time they failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1958.[122] Immediately following the match, veterans Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team.[123][124][125][126][127] On 15 November 2017, Ventura was dismissed as head coach[128] and on 20 November 2017, Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.[129][130] On 5 February 2018, the Italy U21 manager Luigi Di Biagio was appointed as the caretaker manager of the senior team.[131] On 17 March 2018, despite the initial decision to retire by veterans Buffon and Chiellini, they were both called up for Italy's March 2018 friendlies by caretaker manager Di Biagio.[132] Following the March friendlies against Argentina and England in which Italy were defeated and drew respectively, on 12 April 2018, Italy dropped six places to their lowest FIFA World Ranking at the time, to 20th place.[133] On 14 May 2018, Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager.[134] On 28 May 2018, Italy won their first match under Mancini, a 2–1 victory in a friendly over Saudi Arabia.[135] On 16 August 2018, in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup, Italy dropped two places to their lowest ever ranking, to 21st place.[136] On 7 September 2018, Italy participated in the inaugural UEFA Nations League, drawing their first match of the tournament against Poland in Bologna with a score of 1–1.[137]

Andrea Pirlo in at UEFA Euro 2012, wearing the completely blue kit, a colour scheme often used by the national team since the 2000s.

The first shirt worn by the Italian national team in its debut with France on 15 May 1910, was white. This choice was due to the fact that the agreement on the official uniform had not yet been reached, and therefore it was decided not to colour it leaving it white.[138] After two games, on the occasion of a friendly match with Hungary in Milan on 6 January 1911, the white shirt was replaced by a blue one version—the choice was motivated by the colour of the royal House of Savoy's banner; the uniform was combined with white shorts and black socks (over time also the latter will become blue). The team had later become known as Gli Azzurri (The Blues).[138]

In the 1930s, Italy wore a black uniform, desired by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini; the black jersey debuted on 17 February 1935 in a friendly against France at the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome.[139] this was raised to a lesser extent also by the National at the football tournament of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin the following year, and at the 1938 World Cup in France 1938.[140] The black uniform was replaced by the blue uniform after the fall of Mussolini after World War II.[141] When the fascist regime fell and the monarchy was abolished in 1946, the Savoy cross gave way to the tricolour badge. At the beginning of the 1950s, the tricolour shield was accompanied by "ITALIA" above the shield. Subsequently the abbreviation "FIGC" of the Federation was incorporated into the badge. In 1983, to celebrate the victory of the World Cup of the previous year, three gold stars replaced the word "ITALIA" above the tricolour, representing their three World Cup victories until that point; in 1984, a new round emblem incorporated the three stars, the inscriptions "ITALIA" and "FIGC", and the tricolour.[138] The first kit manufacturer was Adidas in 1974, followed by Baila, Le Coq Sportif, Diadora, Nike and Kappa, and since 2003, has been manufactured by Puma.[138] Since the 2000s, an all-blue uniform including blue shorts has been used, particularity in international tournaments.[138] After Italy's 2006 World Cup victory, a fourth star was added to the tricolour badge.

Italy has four main rivalries with other top footballing nations. Their rivalry with Brazil, known as the Clásico Mundial in Spanish or the World Derby in English,[142] two of the most successful football nations in the world, having achieved nine World Cups between the two countries. Since it was first contested at the 1938 World Cup, they have played against each other a total of five times in the World Cup, most notably in the 1970 World Cup Final and the 1994 World Cup final in which Brazil won 4–1, and 3–2 on penalties after a goalless draw, respectively.[143]

Their rivalry with Germany, is also long-standing, having played against each other five times in the World Cup, notably in the "Game of the Century", the 1970 World Cup semifinal between the two countries that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time.[147] Germany has also won three European Championships while Italy has won it once. The two countries have faced each other four times in the European championship, with three draws (one German penalty shoot-out victory) and one Italian victory.[148] Germany had never defeated Italy in a major tournament match until their victory in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, on penalties (though statistically considered a draw), with all Germany's other wins over Italy being in friendly competitions.[115]

Their rivalry with Spain, sometimes referred to as the Mediterranean derby,[149] has been contested since 1920, and although the two nations are not immediate geographical neighbours, their rivalry at international level is enhanced by the strong performances of the representative clubs in UEFA competitions, in which they are among the leading associations and have each enjoyed spells of dominance.[150][151] Since the quarterfinal match between the two countries at Euro 2008, the rivalry has renewed, with its most notable match between the two sides being in the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, which Spain won 4–0.[152][153]

During the earliest days of Italian nation football, it was common for a Technical Commission to be appointed. The Commission took the role that a standard coach would currently play. Ever since 1967, the national team has been controlled by the coaches only.

For this reason, the coach of the Italian national team is still called Technical Commissioner (Commissario tecnico or CT, the use of this denomination has since then expanded into other team sports in Italy).

The following players have also been called up to the Italy squad within the last 12 months. Players that have retired from the national team and are not available for selection anymore are not displayed.

^Gianluigi Buffon served as second acting captain in UEFA Euro 2008 after Alessandro Del Piero was named the team's acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.[162] Although Buffon was officially named Italy's new captain in 2010,[163] following Fabio Cannavaro's retirement subsequent to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Andrea Pirlo was named the Italian national team's acting captain after the tournament (while Daniele De Rossi was named the team's second acting captain),[163][164][165] as Buffon was ruled out until the end of the year due to injury, and only made his first appearance as Italy's official captain on 9 February 2011, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against Germany.[163][166][167][168]

1.
Roberto Mancini
–
Roberto Mancini is an Italian football manager and former player, who last managed Internazionale. He was capped 36 times for Italy, taking part at UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup, achieving semi-final finishes in both tournaments. In 1997, after 15 years at Sampdoria, Mancini left the club to join Lazio, where he won a further Scudetto, as well as the Cup Winners Cup, as a player, Mancini would often give team talks at half-time. Towards the end of his career he became an assistant to Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio. His first manager role was at a cash-stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and he won a Coppa Italia there, but left with the team facing bankruptcy. Months later he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players, with limited resources during his two-season tenure, he guided the club to another Coppa Italia. In 2004, Mancini was given the chance to manage a club with more resources when he was offered the managers job at Inter. Despite his domestic success, many saw the repeated failure to win the coveted Champions League as the main reason for his dismissal in 2008. After being out of football for over a year, Mancini was appointed Manchester City manager in December 2009. Under his stewardship, he instilled a winning culture at the club taking Manchester City from a club to the pinnacle of English football. In the 2010–11 season, his first full season at Manchester City, Mancini guided the club to Champions League football, under Mancini, Manchester City progressed to the 2013 FA Cup Final, but were defeated by Wigan Athletic 1–0. Mancini was sacked on 13 May 2013, and in September of that took over at Turkish club Galatasaray. Mancini has won a total of 25 trophies,13 as a player and 12 as a manager, regarded as a cup specialist, Mancini has reached at least a semi-final of a major national cup competition in every season he has been a manager, from 2002 to 2013. He holds a number of records including most consecutive Coppa Italia finals from 2004 to 2008, with Lazio once in 2004, raised a Roman Catholic, his young life in the town of Jesi revolved around religion and football. He was a boy and played for the local Aurora Calcio football team in his youth. On one occasion, a fixture clashed with his first Holy Communion, halfway through the ceremony, the eight-year-old Mancini was nowhere to be seen. Roberto said they were in the rooms and so he told him to sneak out of the side door and put them on because his team needed him. Mancini debuted in the Italian Serie A for Bologna on 1981, the following year, he was bought by Sampdoria, for £2.2 million, whom he played for until 1997

2.
Captain (association football)
–
The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the toss prior to kick-off. Contrary to what is said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, any trophy won by a team will be received by the captain who will also be the first one to hoist it. The captain also generally leads the teams out of the room at the start of the match. The captain generally provides a point for the team, if morale is low. Captains may join the manager in deciding the first team for a certain game, in youth or recreational football, the captain often takes on duties, that would, at a higher level, be delegated to the manager. A club captain is usually appointed for a season, if he is unavailable or not selected for a particular game, then the club vice-captain will be appointed to perform a similar role. The match captain is the first player to lift a trophy should the team win one, a good example of this was in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final when match captain Peter Schmeichel lifted the trophy for Manchester United as club captain Roy Keane was suspended. In the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, match captain Frank Lampard jointly lifted the trophy for Chelsea with club captain John Terry, a club may appoint two distinct roles, a club captain to represent the players in a public relations role, and correspondent on the pitch. After Neville retired in 2011, regular starter Nemanja Vidić was named as club captain, são Paulos Rogério Ceni is the player who has worn the captains armband the most times. A vice-captain is a player that is expected to captain the side when the captain is not included in the starting eleven, or if, during a game. Examples include Manuel Neuer succeeding Philipp Lahm at Bayern Munich, Marcelo attaining from Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid C. F, gary Cahill being the understudy of John Terry at Chelsea FC and Lionel Messi taking over from Andrés Iniesta at FC Barcelona. Similarly, some clubs also name a 3rd captain to take the role of captain when both the captain and vice-captain are unavailable, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Germany had three captains. Michael Ballack had skippered the team since 2004, including the successful qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Lahm ended up becoming the permanent captain of Germany, as Ballack was never called up for the national team

3.
Giorgio Chiellini
–
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. A physically strong, aggressive, and versatile defender, although he is deployed as a centre-back, he is also capable of playing as a left-back. At club level, Chiellini began his career with Livorno in 2000, also playing for Roma and Fiorentina. With Juventus, he has won five consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2016 and he made his international debut for Italy in 2004, and has since earned over 90 caps. Chiellini joined the teams at Livorno at age six and started out as a central midfielder. As he matured, he switched to playing as a winger and he played in the clubs youth academy between 1990 and 2000, before earning first team call-ups for the 2000–01 Serie C1 season. In his first season with the first team, Chiellini made three appearances and followed that up five more appearances the following season. In June 2002, he was signed by Roma in a deal, for €3.1 million, however, he was loaned back to Livorno for the 2002–03 Serie B season. In his first Serie B season, Chiellini made six seasonal appearances, in his second Serie B season, Chiellini broke into the starting line-up for the club, and would go on to make 42 official appearances, also scoring four goals from his left back position. In June 2004, Livorno officially bought back Chiellini for €3 million, during his four-season spell with the clubs first team, Chiellini made a total of 57 appearances, scoring four goals, before his transfer to Juventus. The complex deal actually meant Juventus bought Romas half for €3 million, in his loan season with the club, Chiellini was a regular in the clubs starting XI, making 42 official appearances, also scoring three goals. After an excellent first season in Serie A, Chiellini was recalled for the 2005–06 season and he became a regular under Fabio Capello and made 23 appearances in his first season with the club, also helping the Old Lady to their 29th scudetto. While in the Serie B, he started playing at centre back, partnering Nicola Legrottaglie, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Juventus won the 2006–07 Serie B title, gaining Serie A promotion with the best goal difference, conceding only 30 goals and scoring over 80 in 42 matches. He scored a double in a 5–1 thrashing at Arezzo in May, Chiellini had a tremendous season and eventually made the position his own. Alongside fellow centre-half Nicola Legrottaglie, the duo were instrumental as Juventus finished the season with the joint second-best defensive record, Chiellini extended his original contract from until 2009 to 2011 on 12 October 2006. On 27 April 2008, Chiellini scored twice for Juventus in 5–2 win over Lazio that confirmed Juventuss place in the Serie A top four, on 26 June 2008, Chiellini extended his contract with Juventus until 2013. During the 2008–09 season, Chiellini remained as first choice in defence alongside Nicola Legrottaglie. Chiellini scored his first goal in Europe on 13 August 2008 as Juve beat Artmedia Petržalka 4–0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie

4.
Gianluigi Buffon
–
Gianluigi Gigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team and he is widely regarded by players, pundits and managers to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and, by some, to be the greatest ever. Buffon is known for his outstanding shot-stopping and for being an organizer of the defence. He is currently the most expensive goalkeeper in history, following his €53 million transfer from Parma to Juventus in 2001. After joining Juventus in 2001, Buffon immediately won Serie A titles in both of his first two seasons at the club, and established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position. After winning two consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006, the club were later stripped of these titles. Despite rumours of his departure, Buffon remained with Juventus, contributing to the clubs Serie B title, in total, he has won seven Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus. He was the goalkeeper of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which saw him keep a record five clean sheets. He has also represented Italy at four European Championships, at the 1996 Olympics, Buffon has also won numerous, prestigious individual and team awards. He was named by Pelé in the FIFA100 list of the worlds greatest living players in 2004 and he has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eleven times. In 2006, Buffon was runner-up for the Ballon dOr and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI, an honour which he also achieved in 2007. After reaching the 2015 Champions League final, he was named to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, and placed fourth in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. He has been named the IFFHS Worlds Best Goalkeeper four times and was named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past 25 years. In 2016, he became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award, despite offers from Bologna and Milan, Buffon began his career with the Parma youth system in 1991, at the age of 13. During his time in the academy, he initially played in several out-field positions, in particular as a midfielder. He quickly adapted to this role, and within two weeks he had promoted to first keeper of the Parma youth team. Ermes Fulgoni, the goalkeeping coach, would soon become a mentor to the young goalkeeper. Buffon made notable saves against Ballon dOr winners Roberto Baggio and George Weah, as well as Marco Simone, throughout the match

5.
Kit (association football)
–
In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread

6.
France national football team
–
The France national football team represents France in international football. The teams colours are blue, white and red, and the coq gaulois its symbol, France are colloquially known as Les Bleus. France play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, and they have won one FIFA World Cup, two UEFA European Football Championships, an Olympic tournament, and two FIFA Confederations Cups. France experienced much of its success in three major, in the 1950s, 1980s, and late 1990s/early 2000s respectively, which resulted in numerous major honours. In 1958, the team, led by Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine, in 1984, France, led by Ballon dOr winner Michel Platini, won UEFA Euro 1984. Under the leadership of Didier Deschamps and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane, two years later, the team triumphed at UEFA Euro 2000. France won the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003, and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the team also reached the final of UEFA Euro 2016, where they lost 1–0 to Portugal in extra time. France, Argentina and Brazil are the national teams that have won the three most important mens titles recognized by FIFA, the World Cup, the Confederations Cup. They have also won their continental championship. The following year, on 12 February 1905, France contested their home match against Switzerland. The match was played at the Parc des Princes in front of 500 supporters, France won the match 1–0 with the only goal coming from Gaston Cyprès. Due to disagreements between FIFA and the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques, the sports union. In 1919, the CFI transformed themselves into the French Football Federation, in 1921, the USFSA finally merged with the FFF. In July 1930, France appeared in the inaugural FIFA World Cup, in their first-ever World Cup match, France defeated Mexico 4–1 at the Estadio Pocitos in Montevideo. Lucien Laurent became notable in the match as he scored not only Frances first World Cup goal, conversely, France also became the first team to not score in a match after losing 1–0 to fellow group stage opponents Argentina. Another loss to Chile resulted in the team bowing out in the group stage, the following year saw the first selection of a black player to the national team. Raoul Diagne, who was of Senegalese descent, earned his first cap on 15 February in a 2–1 defeat to Czechoslovakia. Diagne later played with the team at the 1938 World Cup, alongside Larbi Benbarek, at the 1934 World Cup, France suffered elimination in the opening round, losing 3–2 to Austria

7.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world

8.
United States men's national soccer team
–
The United States mens national soccer team, often referred to as the USMNT, represents the United States in international soccer. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF, the team has appeared in ten FIFA World Cups and hosted the 1994 edition. They achieved their best result when they reached the semi-final at the 1930 World Cup, finishing third, this remains the highest finish of any team outside of the UEFA and CONMEBOL confederations. After qualifying for the 1934 World Cup, and withdrawing in 1938, after 1950, the U. S. did not qualify for the World Cup again until 1990. Following the 1990 World Cup, the U. S. qualified automatically as hosts of the 1994 World Cup, the team has qualified for all five World Cups since, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 tournament, where it lost to Germany 1–0. In 2009 it finished runner-up at the Confederations Cup, eliminating top-ranked Spain 2–0 in the semi-finals before losing to Brazil 3–2 in the final, the teams current head coach is Bruce Arena, who took over in November 2016 and previously managed the team from 1998 to 2006. The first United States national team was constituted in 1885, when it played Canada in the first international match held outside the United Kingdom, Canada defeated the U. S. 1–0 in Newark, New Jersey. The United States had its revenge the following year when it beat Canada 1–0, also in Newark, the United States played its first official international match under the auspices of U. S. Soccer August 20,1916, against Sweden in Stockholm, where the U. S. won 3–2, the U. S fielded a team in the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the first ever World Cup to ever be played. The U. S. began group play by beating Belgium 3–0, the U. S. then earned a 3–0 victory over Paraguay, with FIFA crediting Bert Patenaude with two of the goals. In November 2006, FIFA announced that it had accepted evidence that Patenaude scored all three goals against Paraguay, and was thus the first person to score a hat trick in a World Cup, in the semifinals, the U. S. lost to Argentina 6–1. Using the overall tournament records, FIFA credited the U. S. with a third-place finish ahead of fellow semi-finalist Yugoslavia. The finish remains the U. S. teams best World Cup result, there was no official soccer tournament in the 1932 Olympic Games. In an informal tournament, the United States finished first, followed by Mexico, the U. S. qualified for the 1934 World Cup by defeating Mexico 4–2. The team played Italy and lost 7–1, eliminating them from the tournament, the Olympic soccer tournament was reinstated in the 1936 Olympic Games. The 1950 World Cup in Brazil was the United Statess next World Cup appearance, the U. S. lost its first match 3–1 against Spain, but then won 1–0 against England at Independência Stadium in Belo Horizonte. Striker Joe Gaetjens was the goal scorer, the result is considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the World Cups. Months before the famous World Cup loss to the U. S, England had beaten an all-star rest of Europe side 6–1 in an exhibition match

9.
Brentford
–
It has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Brentford has a shopping and dining venue grid of streets at its centre. The name is recorded as Breguntford in 705 in an Anglo-Saxon charter, the name of the river is Celtic and means holy one and the -ford suffix is Old English. The ford was most likely located where the road crossed the river. New Brentford is recorded as Newe Braynford in 1521 and was known as Westbraynford. Old Brentford is recorded as Old Braynford in 1476 and was known as Estbraynford. The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, and thus pre-dates the founding of London itself, many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as Old England. Bronze Age pottery and burnt flints have been found in sites in Brentford. The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a point for pre-Romanic tribes. The Celtic knot pattern on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery, Brentford is the first point which was easily fordable by foot on the tidal portion of the River Thames. Partly for this reason it has suggested that Julius Cæsar crossed the Thames here during his invasion of Britain in 54 BC. In his own account, he writes that he crossed the river 80 miles from the sea and he further states that the river bank was protected by sharp stakes. During the building of Brentford Dock many such oak stakes were discovered, dredging the river uncovered so many more that they had to be removed, for they were a hazard to navigation. Although his descriptions are compelling, there is as yet, no proof that this was indeed the spot where he. It must also be kept in mind that Julius Cæsars own accounts suffered in some part, there are, however, two other historically accredited battles of Brentford in 1016 and 1642. A local town fair, called the Brentford Festival, has held in Brentford every September since 1900. The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855 and it was opened in 1859. The dock yard is now a Marina and housing estate, a notable family from Brentford was the 18th/19th century architectural father and son partnership, the Hardwicks

10.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years

11.
Hungary national football team
–
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. Hungary has a football history, having won three Olympic titles, finishing runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, and third in the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national side first appeared at the Summer Olympic Games in 1912 in Stockholm, the team had to ask for donations in order to be able to go to the games. Hungary lost 7–0 to England and thus were eliminated, after the Olympic Games Hungary played two matches against Russia in Moscow. The first match was won 9–0 and the second 12–0, which is still a record for the national side, the top scorer of the two matches was Imre Schlosser who scored seven goals. The beginning of World War I had a impact on the thriving Hungarian football. Both the country and the clubs were suffering financial problems, during World War I Hungary played Austria 16 times. In 1919 England claimed the exclusion of the Central Powers from FIFA, when FIFA refused Englands plea, the British and Irish associations decided to resign from FIFA. Budapest was denied the opportunity to host the 1920 Summer Olympics, the countries of the Central Powers were excluded from the Olympics. During this period the Fogl brothers played in the national team, the formation the Hungarians used was 2–3–5 which was unique at that time. The national team played at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, in the first match Hungary beat Poland but in the second round they lost to Egypt. As a consequence, both the coach and the head of the Hungarian Football Federation resigned. Between 1927 and 1930, Hungary participated in the Europa Cup, which is considered to be the first international tournament, with Austria, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Russia, in the final, Hungary lost to Russia. On 12 June 1927, Hungary beat France by 13–1, which is still a record, the first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, but Hungary were not invited and did not take part in the tournament, there were no qualification matches. Hungary first appeared in the 1934 World Cup in Italy, Hungarys first World Cup match was against Egypt on 27 May 1934, a 4–2 win. The goals were scored by Pál Teleki, Géza Toldi and Jenő Vincze, in the quarter-finals, Hungary faced neighbouring arch-rivals Austria but lost 2–1, the only Hungarian goal coming from György Sárosi. Hungary entered the 1936 Olympics, where in the first round they were eliminated by Poland, the 1938 World Cup was held in France. The first match was played against Dutch East Indies and Hungary won 6–0, Sárosi and Gyula Zsengellér each scored twice while Vilmos Kohut and Toldi scored one goal each

12.
Budapest
–
Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary, one of the largest cities in the European Union and sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary. It has an area of 525 square kilometres and a population of about 1.8 million within the limits in 2016. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the Danube river with the unification of Buda and Óbuda on the west bank, the history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century and their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–1242. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century, following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, the region entered a new age of prosperity, and Budapest became a global city after its unification in 1873. It also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a power that dissolved in 1918. Budapest was the point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Republic of Councils in 1919, the Battle of Budapest in 1945. Budapest is an Alpha- global city, with strengths in arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts the Budapest Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks and it is the highest ranked Central and Eastern European city on Innovation Cities Top 100 index. Budapest attracts 4.4 million international tourists per year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world, further famous landmarks include Andrássy Avenue, St. It has around 80 geothermal springs, the worlds largest thermal water system, second largest synagogue. Budapest is home to the headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Police College, over 40 colleges and universities are located in Budapest, including the Eötvös Loránd University, Central European University and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Budapest is the combination of the city names Buda and Pest, One of the first documented occurrences of the combined name Buda-Pest was in 1831 in the book Világ, written by Count István Széchenyi. The origins of the names Buda and Pest are obscure, according to chronicles from the Middle Ages, the name Buda comes from the name of its founder, Bleda, brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila. The theory that Buda was named after a person is also supported by modern scholars, an alternative explanation suggests that Buda derives from the Slavic word вода, voda, a translation of the Latin name Aquincum, which was the main Roman settlement in the region. There are also theories about the origin of the name Pest. One of the states that the word Pest comes from the Roman times. According to another theory, Pest originates from the Slavic word for cave, or oven, the first settlement on the territory of Budapest was built by Celts before 1 AD

Brentford Dock lock gates and Justin Close Brentford Dock is a basin off the Thames, with modern housing around it.

The former Brentford GWR Station view eastward on Brentford High St. The station, on a branch from Southall to Brentford Docks, had been on the left. The passenger station and the service from Southall were closed on 4/5/42, but although Brentford Dock was closed in 1964, goods trains ran to Brentford Town Goods until 7/12/70.